The invention relates to a process and to an apparatus for obtaining raw materials from autumn leaves or foliage.
It is known to pick or harvest green or yellow leaves, particularly from cultivted plants and, after drying and/or fermentation, to extract them for obtaining various constituents thereof. The idea of using fallen autumn foliage for obtaining leaf constituents in the same way has not been employed in the past because it was considered that, prior to the autumn fall of leaves, plants transfer their leaf nutrients into the branches and stem, so that the fallen leaves are largely depleted of such nutrients. Therefore, it has been conventional practice to burn autumn foliage, compost it to a limited extent, or eliminate it in some other way. A considerable problem is caused by the elimination of autumn leaves, particularly in cities, because they have to be swept together and then moved on garbage trucks to remote dumps, or have to be fed to complicated and costly composting plants.
The problem addressed by the present invention, therefore, is to provide a process for obtaining raw materials from autumn foliage, as well as an apparatus suitable for obtaining therefrom valuable chemical raw materials, which can be obtained either by extraction or as fuels from the residues.